


Tenebrae Miracle

by saisei



Series: IgNoct Week 2019 [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Disabled Character, M/M, Reunions, Separations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 19:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20120134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saisei/pseuds/saisei
Summary: Noct suspects his father pushed so hard for the liberation of Tenebrae because he believes in miracles. At any rate, as soon as the wall of Lucian protection settles into place, Noct is chosen to attend Lunafreya's ascension to the throne as Queen and Oracle.Ignis left Noct's service after being injured in the Marilith attack, and hasn't been seen in over a decade. (for IgNoct Week Day 7: Public/Private)





	Tenebrae Miracle

**Public**

Noct suspects his father pushed so hard for the liberation of Tenebrae because he believes in miracles. At any rate, as soon as the wall of Lucian protection settles into place, Noct is chosen to attend Lunafreya's ascension to the throne as Queen and Oracle.

He travels with Gladio, his Shield, and Prompto, his best friend, who's served him officially as personal assistant ever since the attack two years ago. Noct very nearly died of his injuries, despite the efforts of his father and Insomnia's best healers. He can walk now, for short distances on good days, thanks to Prompto's steadfast encouragement, unflagging in the face of Noct's frustration, apathy, anger – all those emotions that came up when he'd thought Niflheim had succeeded in putting him in a wheelchair for life.

(Not that he hates his wheelchair. He's got the best Lucian technology available: lightweight, easily maneuverable, tricked out in royal black with skulls on the wheels, very metal. He has no love for Niflheim and their assassins, however.)

Prompto snaps pictures like crazy as the royal yacht approaches Pagla Harbor. Noct can't blame him. They'd stayed a few days in Altissia on the way here, and each new land is so different from the bustle of Insomnia, or the desert and farmlands surrounding it. Tenebrae's lush green mountains look like they spilled from a book of fairy tales – or a fantasy video game. He half-wishes he could go hiking. There are probably great fishing spots in isolated pools and rivers.

Taking the train through Ulwaat to Zoldara Henge is a pretty good adventure in itself, though. Lady Lunafreya's brother Ravus met them at the harbor and they travel in the royal train carriage, over deep gorges where rainbows rise from waterfalls. Ravus seems nervous around Noct, who's content to sic Prompto and all his photographer's enthusiasm on him. Noct lets Gladio stand guard and dozes for a few hours; he's going to need his strength for when they arrive.

From the train station up to Fenestala Manor they take a car, and Noct's back lets him know it disapproves strongly of all this traveling. He bets he's going to get stuck in bed for at least one of the upcoming days – unless Lunafreya really does have a miracle up her sleeve.

She does, though. She really, really does.

Ravus ushers them into the Manor – with some fuss about getting the wheelchair up the front steps, which irks Noct to no end – and then into a parlor for his introduction to Lady Lunafreya. She's clever and gracious, inquiring after his journey but not his health (that would be mortifying), and she includes Gladio and Prompto in the conversation naturally.

Perhaps twenty minutes after their arrival, there's a light knock at the door and it opens, admitting someone who apologizes for the interruption, but wonders if Lord Ravus is perhaps within.

Noct can't get turned around fast enough. He _knows_ that voice, or he did.

"Specs?" 

Ignis in his memories is a child; two years older than Noct, with perfect manners and a penchant for sly mischief, for which he never got caught. The man at the door is shockingly tall, with hair styled straight up to add another four centimeters to his height. The glasses he wears now are dark, and livid red scars stand out on his face, but it's _him_, and Noct has been mourning him half his lifetime.

Noct's halfway across the room, Lunafreya and the others forgotten behind him, when he realizes Ignis hasn't moved. That despite having been sent away for healing after the marilith attack where he'd saved Noct's life, he's still blind. There's a cane in his hand, and he's tilted his head the better to hear Noct's approach.

"It's me," he says, suddenly fully of acute worry that Ignis doesn't remember him – no wait, that would be absurd. But he might not have missed Noct in the same way. Noct's presence might bring back only bad memories. "I never thought – "

"_Noct_," Ignis says, in his deeper adult voice, but he's the same, and he looks just how Noct feels, right down to the twin tears that slide out from behind his glasses. Noct scrubs his own face and throws his brakes, pushing to his feet so he can cross the last few steps on his own feet.

He sees Ignis frown, and he'll likely have to explain the limp and back problems later, but right now he's close enough to reach out and touch Ignis' arm. He's solid, and _real_.

"It's so good to see you," he says, in painful understatement, and pulls Ignis into a hug. "I missed you, I thought you were – you never came back, and I thought for years, I must have done something..."

"My sincere apologies," Ignis says. He sounds as if he's trying to keep a dignified distance, but his arms around Noct's back are tight and his face is buried in Noct's hair. "I'd never have wanted you to worry."

Noct has nothing to say to that; they'll talk later, he knows, but right now he's just... full of joy. He hugs Ignis until he has to admit to himself that he's clinging for stability as well as pleasure, and he lifts one hand to give Gladio his discreet _help, now_ signal.

"Scientia," Gladio says, stopping right behind Noct. Probably Ignis knew he'd approached just from his heavy tread. "You're looking good. Let me just take the Prince off your hands. Literally," he adds as a reprimand to Noct, who rolls his eyes at him but accepts the assistance in making his way back to the chair. "Gladio Amicitia," he adds. "We used to antagonize each other as kids. I'm less of a," there's a self-censoring pause and Noct sees him glance furtively towards Lunafreya, "pain now than I was then."

"My vision is impaired, not my memory," Ignis says, but he's smiling a little, as if what he recalls of Gladio amuses him. And then he straightens, looking across the room with chagrin. "I beg your pardon, Lady Lunafreya."

"No," Ravus says, standing. Noct notices now that both Ravus and Ignis wear the same uniform – not for the Tenebraean resistance, since Niflheim's been repelled and the wall guards the border, but the Queensguard. Ravus – as Lunafreya's brother – must hold the highest rank, as his uniform is white, whereas Ignis wears gray. "I'd forgotten you'd of course know the Lucian delegation." He crosses the room, giving Noct a formal bow that's very hard to acknowledge from a seated position, before looking back to Ignis. "You'll join us for dinner, I hope. I'll have your secretary make room on your schedule."

Ignis follows him out of the room, protesting that such a thing would be impossible, and Noct has to grip his rims tightly to keep from giving chase. He'd let Ignis out of his sight once, and had lost him forever, or so he'd thought.

* * *

**Private**

Noct doesn't get any time alone with Ignis until after the ascension ceremony. He understands, even though he finds it frustrating. If he had his way, he'd ditch all the banquets and balls and lectures by eminent scholars and parades through the center of town. But when his thoughts turn the most selfish he makes himself imagine: what would his feelings be if Lucis had been subjugated? If his father had been murdered, and he'd only been able to take the throne years later?

He's good. He's glad for the Tenebraean people, for Lunafreya and Ravus, and he's sincere with his good wishes.

But he's also so giddy he feels like his stomach is in knots as he gets ready to meet with Ignis, who on his afternoon off is willing to take Noct around the famous manor gardens.

"He's blind, dude," Prompto says, when Noct's trying to decide between a deep red button-down and a black shirt with a black waistcoat (decorated with black embroidery). "And you've told me ten times that it's not a date."

"It isn't," Noct agrees. "And he is. And I'm going to stab you if you don't tell me which looks better."

"Red," Gladio says, from the corner where he's nursing his deep amusement.

Noct's plenty glad to get away from both of them, he tells himself as he cools his heels waiting for Ignis on the west porch. The view from here is spectacular: some of the mountains are suspended in the air by their innate magic, and everywhere he looks he sees lush greenery which is probably also magical in origin. He knows Niflheim unleashed daemons on Zoldara Henge, razing all but the manor, but it's nearly unimaginable. All he sees is beauty.

Ignis is just as beautiful to him when he appears, first heralded by a methodical tapping from the gallery, then pausing in the doorway. Noct's starting to think only part of it's related to the blindness; Ignis, he suspects, likes making an entrance. And he succeeds. This is the first time Noct's seen him out of uniform, and he wants to believe Ignis dressed up for him, in a purple coeurl-print shirt loosely tucked into slim black trousers which accentuate the ridiculous length of his legs.

"Hey," Noct says. He lifts a hand in an awkward wave before remembering, but Ignis turns to him and smiles anyway.

"Have you been waiting long?" Ignis asks.

Noct doesn't know, and neither does he care. He says honestly that he'd been lost in contemplating the scenery, and then asks if Ignis has been here all along.

He'd meant to start the conversation out with easy small talk, and nearly rescinds the question, but Ignis seems amenable to talking about himself as they take the slope down to a paved pathway that meanders toward a pavilion in the distance.

Ignis had been sent, he says, to the Oracle, but while she'd healed his burns and he was no longer in pain, his eyesight had been another matter. Ulwaat had a famous school that taught magic to the blind, and he'd enrolled there, intending to return to Insomnia once he was capable of independent living.

"I wrote to you," Ignis tells Noct, his tone remorseful, almost guilty. "But I didn't know how to explain I'd be away for years and not weeks, and I was... bitter, I suppose, imagining a reply I could no longer read. So each letter ended up in the trash, and then Niflheim cut off all communications. After the invasion," he adds, looking down at Noct with a slight smile, "you might be surprised to know that most of the blind students joined the resistance, as spies and so on. It was..." He pauses, as if choosing his words. "I'd missed having a purpose in life."

"You look so grown up," Noct says, and immediately wishes he had a hand free to smack himself in the face with.

"I should hope so," Ignis replies, his smile a bit closer to a grin this time. But he must sense Noct's embarrassment, because he kindly shifts the subject back to Insomnia, asking after people he'd known and places they'd frequented as children.

When they reach the pavilion, the road forks, and Ignis makes a quick absent gesture before turning to the right.

The kind of magic that's useful for a blind student, Noct thinks – and for someone slipping behind enemy lines under cover of darkness. "Nice one," he says in appreciation.

Ignis looks flustered for a moment, and then says wryly, "Ah. It slipped my mind, but of course you'll have studied magic as well."

"Just a bit." While his father insists that the strength of the wall comes from the Lucian people and their prosperity, Noct knows that working with the Ring and the Crystal takes its toll. He's seen his father's hair start to gray, new wrinkles framing his eyes, and trains with Gladio as hard as he can to be able to assume the responsibility of protecting the nation when... when he needs to.

"You should be able to see the field of sylleblossoms just over this ridge," Ignis says, perhaps trying to draw the conversation away from heavier topics.

Noct's got none of his tact, however. "Can you see anything? Light or colors or shapes or – I don't know."

"Light, to some degree." Ignis sounds matter-of-fact, and Noct wonders if it's easier to explain this to someone who can only _walk, to some degree_. "Which is rarely as useful as you might assume."

"Makes sense." And then – to Noct's arms' relief – the path stops its gentle climb and a wide vista opens out before them, waving blue flowers as far as the eye can see. "Whoa."

"There's an observation deck," Ignis says, and leads the way. The deck has a step up, to Ignis' consternation – he hadn't recalled that, but why would he? – but Noct's determined, the railing is sturdy, and there are nice iron benches for sitting and observing.

The moment of getting up the step is awkward, and Noct jokes that another one of his superpowers is tripping on rugs.

"Something we have in common, then," Ignis says. He's hovering the way people do when they don't know how to help, which Noct appreciates; better the hover than an ill-considered grab which would be most likely to land him on his ass.

Noct gets his other foot up and then they're in business; at least, the business of settling down on a bench and chilling.

"I like it out here," he says. "There aren't places like this back home – you know. It's not just the flowers, there're butterflies and birds and bees – do you still hate bugs?"

"They're not my favorite," Ignis admits. "But sylleblossom honey is excellent."

Noct hums: he'll have to get his hands on some. "Do you want me to tell you what I look like? It feels unfair that I know you grew up hot and for all you know I'm weird-looking."

Ignis leans back, crosses his legs at the knee, and sets one elbow on the backrest, like he's trying to look nonchalant. The pose would be less suspicious if he didn't keep his gaze firmly ahead, as if he found the flowers fascinating. After a long moment, he says, "I asked Ravus to tell me."

Noct groans. "Great – he definitely said I was weird-looking. Have you noticed that he gets prickly whenever I'm in the same room as Luna?"

"Some of the older councilors believe a royal marriage should unite Lucis and Tenebrae." Ignis' voice is flat, so it takes a moment for his meaning to sink in.

And then Noct can't help making a face. "Dad's twice as old as Luna. That's a horrible idea."

Ignis' startled into laughing at him, and Noct's captivated, even as Ignis tries to apologize. Ignis was always serious as a child, and Noct treasured moments like this, when Ignis was unguarded. It's like being let in on a good secret (even if the secret's that he's dumb sometimes).

"You meant me," he says, nudging Ignis in the side. "That makes more sense – "

"Indeed."

"– except I'm gay, Specs, and that would suck just as bad for Luna. Maybe the councilors should just stick to leaving her private life alone."

"Are you really?" Ignis asks, and all laughter clears from his face, his expression going completely blank.

Noct's heart goes cold. If Ignis hadn't been hurt and sent away, he's sure he'd have developed a huge crush on him, the same way he did on Gladio, childhood friendship suddenly morphing into desire. He'd loved Ignis more than anyone, way back when. He doesn't want this wonderful, unexpected reunion to be tainted by any kind of prejudice, or disgust, or rejection. 

"Not in the cheerful sense," Noct says, because he's learned to have a few smartass answers on hand for people who can't mind their own business. "But yeah. I like boys."

"_Oh_." He sounds devastated.

Well, that's that, Noct thinks, watching Ignis' shoulders tuck in defensively. Still, he's not going to let any bridges go unburned. "But I'm currently single, so you know – if that's a vacancy you'd care to fill."

"I would," Ignis says, immediately, as if he's pouncing on the offer, and Noct blinks, confused and off-balanced. "I would in a _heartbeat_, but you're a _prince_."

"Gladio's super into romance novels," Noct says, turning sideways so he can get a good look at Ignis' face. "Pretty sure prince and his best friend who saved his life is, like, an entire genre. It's not forbidden, it's cliché."

He's a bit worried that Ignis might spook like a stray kitten if he moves too fast, but he has to do something, so he runs his finger across the back of Ignis' hand, like a question. An invitation. After a moment, Ignis turns his hand over for Noct to hold. Their fingers slot together, and Noct vibrates, like he's about to work with lightning magic, alert and aware and tingling right down to his toes.

"Ravus said your appearance was _passable_," Ignis murmurs after a moment, and slides his glasses off. "Of my own, taking everything I know into account – "

"Don't you dare," Noct says. "No one gets to say bad things about my friend Ignis." He gives Ignis' hand a squeeze, like a warning, and then raises his free hand to brush along the edge of the scar. "I only care if it hurts – does it?"

Ignis shakes his head in a silent no, so Noct continues his slow exploration.

"I've got scars, too," he confides. "Not anywhere I could show you in public. There's one that Prompto calls the tramp stamp. Want to guess where it is?"

Ignis is looking at him, at least with the one silver-scarred eye that he can open, his gaze shifting like he's trying to see, to puzzle out which bits of dark and light are Noct. "Perhaps the Oracle," he starts, and Noct puts a finger across his lips.

"Between you and me, I think that's what my dad hopes, too, but." He shrugs. "You're my Tenebrae miracle. I'm – more than fine with that."

Ignis' cheeks flush. "Please don't ever say that in front of Ravus. He'd never let me live it down."

"Kiss me and I'll consider not embarrassing you in front of your boss."

"Extortion," Ignis murmurs, leaning in, "how dare you," and then his mouth is on Noct's. It feels as if a circuit has been completed, a long-interrupted current flowing between them once more; like magic, like love, like healing.


End file.
